Slowed down by a rib injury she sustained in the middle of the match, Masdiana displayed her big fighting heart to overcome Cambodia's Chansouda 7-6 in the repercharge round.

"My biggest motivation was to win a medal," said the 28-year-old Masdiana after duplicating her effort in the 2007 edition held in Korat, Thailand.

"I was high-spirited because I got another chance in the repercharge round. I told myself that this is my last chance to win a medal.

"It hurt everytime I move but I did not let the pain stop me from fighting. I want to win, thats all I was thinking of," said Masdiana, who came home empty-handed during her stints in Kuala Lumpur (2001) and Manila (2005).

Masdiana defeated Ana Maria Paula of Timor Leste 4-2 in the quarter-finals but she lost to Indonesia's Martinel Prihastut 3-5 in the semi-final round.

Masdiana had a good start in the semi-final round where she took a 2-0 lead before Prihastut got her act together and fought more aggressively to advance to the final round.

Masdiana's bronze was the Sultanate's only medal yesterday after Hj Eddie Jofriani Hj Johari and Mohd Fidaiy Hj Sanif lost in their respective divisions.

Hj Eddie Jofriani, who suffered a deep cut above his right eye going into the final 10 seconds of his match against Vietnam's Pham Hoai Long yesterday, was a silver medallist in the 2007 SEA Games.

The on-site doctor who treated Hj Eddie Jofriani stopped the match.

Mohd Fidaiy, on the other hand, bowed to Myanmar's Aung Pyae in the quarter-finals and lost to Indonesia's Donny Dharmawan in the repercharge phase.

Brunei were forced to pull out of the women's team kumite because of Masdiana's rib injury.

Head coach Okhida Simangasing and team manager Hj Sayed Mohammed Hj Othman described the team's overall performance as satisfactory.

"I'm happy with our performance here," said Okhida. "I'm proud of my athletes. All of them gave their best and that's the most important thing. They fought well."

Hj Sayed Mohammed, a former national athlete, said: "I think that our athletes have improved a lot. Winning four bronze medals is something we should be proud of.

"We only sent athletes who have the potential to win medals and were glad they delivered. Even the newcomers performed above expectations," Hj Sayed added.

Playing in only his second international tournament this year, Mohd Fathullah found his opponent too much to handle.

"He's relaxed, he only waits for me to attack," said the 19-year-old exponent from Brunei-Muara district who reached the quarter-finals at the International Club Taekwondo Open last July in Kuala Lumpur.

"I'm upset for losing my match but I'm taking the loss as a learning experience," said Mohd Fathullah, who was forced to lose nine kilogrammes in three weeks to meet the weight limit.

He also had to juggle his time between training and reviewing for exams last month.

Meanwhile, Brunei hope to increase their medal haul when they compete in men's shot put and wushu's duilian events today.